BELOVED BICYCLE DELIVERY MAN CRUSHED TO DEATH BY FALLING TREE

 Posted on December 04, 2015 in Personal Injury

A 20-year old Brooklyn man was killed at about 1 PM on Monday when a contractor hired by the Parks Department failed to close off a path running through Red Hook’s Coffey Park when pruning and removing trees as part of post-Hurricane Sandy clean up.

TREE REMOVAL CONTRACTOR’S FAILURE TO CLOSE PATH RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MAN

Jim Liu, a neighborhood fixture described as “hard-working”and “friendly”, was riding his bicycle through the popular path in Coffey Park to deliver food to a customer when he was struck by a falling tree. Mr. Liu was transported to Methodist Hospital where here mained in critical condition before his untimely death. It is unclear whether the contractor who was responsible for the incident attempted to stop Mr. Liu from riding down the path however what does appear clear is that the paved path was not closed for traffic despite the dangerous activities in progress.

POST-HURRICANE SANDY CLEAN-UP CONTINUES

Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc along the East Coast, including New York City, in mid-late October 2012. Three years later, New York City is still undertaking efforts to clean up from the damage caused by the Superstorm. Such efforts include hiring private contractors for tree removal. Whether the City may be held liable for Mr. Liu’s death as landowner, or for hiring the private contractor who cut down the tree, remains to be seen.